Zelensky said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not defend Artemivsk “at any cost”
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The Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) will not defend Artemovsk in the DPR “at any cost”, it is not a very big city. Such a statement did President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“It’s not a particularly big city. <…> It is important for us to defend it, but not at any cost and for everyone to die. We will fight as long as it is reasonable,” he said.
According to Zelensky, after the capture of Artemivsk, Russian troops want to reach “as far as Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, to the borders of Donbass and to the Dnieper.” He added that Ukrainian forces are resisting and at the same time “preparing a counteroffensive.”
The fighting around Artemovsk has been going on for several months. At the end of January, Zelensky pointed to the tense situation around the city. Then he said that only the accelerated dispatch of weapons could correct the situation and called on the West to increase the volume of military aid supplies.
On February 16, adviser to the acting head of the DPR, Igor Kimakovsky, announced the capture of all the heights in the vicinity of Artemovsk. Kyiv the next day urged evacuate residents of Artemovsk, and Zelensky informed about the beginning of the offensive of Russian troops in several directions. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has repeatedly pointed to the ongoing offensive in the Donetsk direction.
February 17, founder of Wagner PMC Evgeny Prigozhin declared about taking control of Paraskovievka, located north of Artemovsk. According to him, Russian forces can surround city in March-April this year. At the same time, the White House allowed the retreat of Ukrainian troops from Artemovsk, recognizing the advance of the Russian army.
Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia, and on October 19 martial law was introduced in the regions.
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